That Precious Person
by Vera The Awesome
Summary: Just as Mikage Sennou gets a new start after breaking their 'Soccer Cyborgs' reputation, their ace striker suddenly goes missing. A worried Sugimori finds him and discovers the shocking truth. Sugimori/Arata, two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, I definitely started this fic with more confidence than I ended it. I think I sort of lost the writing spirit that boosted the two latest fics (and a drabble on Tumblr) halfway through, but I hope it can still be considered decent. This fic will be divided in two seperate chapters, so please enjoy the first one~ :3**

* * *

Sugimori Takeshi was in a bad mood. It'd been three months since Dark Emperors, the fifth team possessed by the Aliea Meteorite, was disbanded. Relieved to close the chapter to that dark part of himself, Sugimori returned to Mikage Sennou, the soccer team where he belonged. Broken free from their reputation as 'Soccer Cyborgs', the members played to their heart's content, and Sugimori guided his them with a newfound passion. He got along much better with the new coach than the previous one, who prioritized Kageyama's orders over the team's wellbeing. Even though it consisted of the same players as before, Sugimori felt they'd gone through a big change, almost as though they'd been reborn along with him. They were finally playing under healthy orders and without restrictions. They were able to form a real friendship and power up through teamwork. They were the same, but they were better. To Sugimori, this was the perfect team.

… aside from the teeny tiny fact that their ace striker was absent as of late. Shimozuru Arata hadn't shown up once for practice during the past two weeks. His teammates had no idea where he was, and seeing as Sugimori was one year up from his, he didn't manage to grab a hold of him. Arata apparently avoided talking to his friends and didn't leave a single message, making it seem like he was never part of Mikage in the first place. It was almost… like he'd just vanished.

Sugimori grew more and more worried each day. Last time he spoke to Arata, everything seemed to be fine. He was by far the most enthusiastic player of the team, so Sugimori couldn't imagine he'd quit without a single word. He'd call him, but he didn't have his cell phone number, nor did he know where Arata lived. He was scared something might've happened to him. Arata could be rash sometimes, but he always notified his captain when there was a problem. He was loyal to his team and loved playing with these people. So how was it possible he'd practically disappeared into thin air…?

Well, if he had indeed disappeared, Sugimori could take a breath of relief, because he materialized at the end of the street. Sugimori thought he imagined it at first, but there was no mistaking that tiny frame and short, pink hair. Arata was standing right there with a bag in his hand, back facing him.

Sugimori instantly picked up the pace, and he was running by the time he reached him and opened his mouth to speak. But then, a third person came into view. He was at least as tall as him and had long, black hair, tied back in a ponytail. His squinted eyes fell right on Arata as the boy greeted him instead of Sugimori. 'Saginuma' was what he called him. Sugimori had no idea who he was. Did he have a new friend?

"A… Arata," he spoke up, and it was only then that Arata turned around and finally noticed him. He was clearly surprised to see him. "Captain…! Wh—what are you doing here?"

Sugimori wasn't sure how to answer that question. It was a regular school day, but a few classes were unexpectedly cancelled, leaving a gap in the middle of his schedule. Instead of finding a quiet place and doing his homework, which he usually did, he'd gone out to wander through town, lost in thought. He wasn't sure what he thought he'd accomplish by doing that.

"I… I needed to catch some fresh air," he ultimately replied, deciding there was a much more important topic to talk about. "Arata, where have you been? Everyone in the soccer club is asking where you are, nobody knows what you—"

"Ah, I'm sorry, but I have no time to make small talk," Arata interrupted him, hand lifted in dismissal. "We'll be late for practice."

"Practice?" Sugimori's confused eyes flicked from him to Saginuma for a moment. Observing him again, he suddenly got the feeling this wasn't the first time they met. Everything about the guy seemed familiar, from those pointy ears to his rather feminine torso. Sugimori failed to place him, but that didn't keep him from getting… certain vibes. Bad ones. As if this person was capable of doing terrible things. Sugimori wasn't happy that Arata interacted with him at all.

"Yes," Arata answered, dragging him back to earth. "Soccer practice. I…" He was suddenly too shy to look him in the eye. "… I joined a new team."

Sugimori's eyes went wide. Those were five words he didn't expect to hear today. They were also the last ones he wanted to hear, especially from this boy's mouth. "You… you _what_?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," Arata stammered. He forced a nervous smile, as if trying to brush off the issue. "I knew how you'd react… Ah, by the way, this is my new captain." Clearly eager to change the subject, he gestured to Saginuma. He gave Sugimori a polite nod.

"My name is Saginuma Osamu. Nice to meet you."

The moment he heard that voice, Sugimori's memories came rushing back. Now he realized. Now he remembered. The guy in front of him was one of the captains of Aliea Gakuen, the alleged alien school that threatened the world and destroyed several schools throughout Japan not long ago. Even though they turned out to be human children his age, Sugimori didn't consider them any less dangerous. And Desarm, leader of the first-rank team Epsilon, seemed the biggest threat of all. The most vicious and ferocious. Arata… was playing under a dangerous guy like that? This piece of scum was who'd replaced him as his captain?

"Stand back!"

Both Arata and Saginuma were forced to back away when Sugimori pushed himself in the middle and extended his arm protectively in front of Arata, meanwhile glaring at the taller male. "Stand back, alien! What do you think you're doing to my player? Are you up to some new scheme? Don't you dare involve Arata in your dirty alien plans! I won't let you brainwash him! Not again!"

Saginuma was too startled to say anything, so Arata shoved Sugimori's arm out of the way and went to stand next to him. "Captain, what are you doing?" he demanded.

"He's one of the aliens!" Sugimori barked, not understanding why Arata was taking Saginuma's side. "Don't you recognize him? He's the leader of Epsilon! Get away from him before he hurts you!"

Arata sighed, not alerted in the least. "Captain, he's not an alien anymore. He—"

Saginuma silenced him by laying a hand on his shoulder. "Let me explain this," he said, and then looked up into Sugimori's furious eyes. He didn't allow him to talk to his striker, much less touch him with those filthy hands.

"You are correct. I once did go by the name of Desarm. My team, as well as the others, was ordered to destroy schools as part of Aliea Gakuen's master plan. However, Aliea Gakuen is no more. It belongs to the past, as do the alien personas of myself and my teammates. We now play soccer on our own strength, solely for the purpose of having fun. We no longer aim to harm others. That time has passed."

As if Sugimori was going to believe any of that. He wanted nothing more than to pummel that pointy nose of his, but he forced himself to refrain from violence. At least in public. Sadly, Arata seemed to be completely under Saginuma's hypnosis, as he kept quiet and simply stood there, waiting for his reaction. But what reaction could he give other than complete disgust?

Seeing as Sugimori didn't answer him, Saginuma spoke up again: "I'm afraid I'll have to excuse myself. We have an appointment."

Arata nodded in agreement, much to Sugimori's disbelief, and began to walk off at Saginuma's side. "I'll see you later, Captain."

And with that, he was gone. Sugimori followed him with his eyes until he disappeared from view. He was completely appalled. He could barely move. For a moment, he even forgot to breathe. Arata acknowledged he was in the presence of an extremely harmful individual… and he just _accepted_ it? This couldn't be possible. There had to be something wrong.

Forcing his feet to move, Sugimori began to march in the direction the pair had gone off to. If they were really going to 'practice', as they said, he'd love to see what kind of practice this was. At this rate, he couldn't leave Arata alone. Not without confirming he was safe. And he couldn't possibly be safe as long as he stayed with that Saginuma.

* * *

"Alright, again!" Hitomiko ordered after Shin Mugen no Kabe managed to block God Knows Kai for the third time. Saginuma went to retrieve the ball, panting slightly at this point. His new shoot took a lot out of him and he had so far failed to break that Infinite Wall, but at least it meant his team's defense was satisfactory. 'Satisfactory' was the least they needed it to be if they had any hopes of beating Inazuma Japan.

Saginuma walked back towards the goal, ball in his hands, and took the liberty of scanning the field for a moment. While he was trying to perfect Aphrodi's shoot, the others were doing different exercises that cost at least as much stamina. But the results matched his and Hitomiko's expectations. Saginuma smiled to himself. His team had a serious chance of taking that seat in Football Frontier International. It had only been established two weeks ago, but its members gave it their all. They were equally determined to prove they deserved to be part of the best soccer team in the world.

Saginuma's happy thoughts crumbled as soon as he spotted a figure that didn't belong in his view. Sugimori was sitting on one of the benches, arms crossed firmly and wearing that seemingly permanent frown he wore when he met him. His eyes were on but one person: Arata, who was trying to dribble around Hera's defense. Arata himself didn't notice him at all. Saginuma looked over at Hitomiko, who had also caught wind of the outsider and told him to remove him from the field. He nodded and kicked the ball at Narukami before making his way over. Sugimori didn't move at all when he approached him.

"I'm sorry, but this is a secret training," Saginuma stated calmly. "I request that you leave the field."

Sugimori's eyes shot up at him in a sharp glare. "Request denied."

"Now see here—" Saginuma started, but he stopped when Arata appeared next to him. He'd spotted his captain as well, and he was twice as shocked to see him as before. As well as twice as displeased.

"Captain—What do you think you're doing here?" His voice carried a hint of indignation. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"Did you think I'd leave you in the hands of that alien?" Sugimori snapped, and he once again sent Saginuma a destructive look.

Arata didn't hesitate to give a disapproving look of his own. "You know he isn't a real alien, and he already told you Aliea Gakuen is gone. I'm fine, I'm just practicing with my new team! You have to—"

"What is this nonsense about a new team?!" Sugimori abruptly shouted, loud enough to make Arata flinch. He stood up, instantly towering over the shorter boy. "You didn't tell me anything about joining a different team! You didn't talk to any of us! You just left! What went through your mind to make such a rash decision?"

Saginuma awkwardly raised his hands. "Please, lower your voice—"

"You stay out of it!" Sugimori barked, and he promptly did as he said, freezing in an instant. Saginuma wasn't intimidated often – if at all –, but keeping his distance from this person seemed like a wise decision. For once, he held his tongue and left the conversation to the ones it concerned.

Arata was taken aback by Sugimori's outburst, but he frowned at the sound of that last question. "I make my own decisions when I want to," he simply answered.

"And what drove you to make this one?" Sugimori demanded. "You went ahead and left us without explaining why! Instead, you—" His eyes fell on Segata, who was minding his own business in the background. "—you joined a bunch of terrorists! They're reckless criminals! What do you think you're going to accomplish by being here? Don't you understand how dangerous this is? These people aren't safe!"

"Neither were you when you played for that last alien team!" Arata suddenly screeched. His hands clenched into fists and he started to tremble in anger, staring straight into Sugimori's shocked eyes. "But you changed, didn't you? You broke free from that Aliea crystal and regained control of your life! Well, that's exactly what Saginuma did! How is he any different from you, huh? What gives you the right to judge and criticize him for his past mistakes, when you did the exact same thing! I don't need you to check up me, I don't need you to look after me! I can make my own decisions, with or without your input! Just leave me alone and stop controlling me, like you always do! You're not my captain anymore!"

Those last fatal words rewound in Sugimori's mind over and over. Every resonation was like a stab to the chest, but even then, it didn't get through to him. It didn't fully hit him until Arata turned on his heel and walked back to his new team, telling Saginuma to come with him. He did so, albeit hesitantly, giving him an unsure look before he followed him.

And once again, Sugimori was left alone. But unlike the first time, he had lost every ounce of motivation to persuade Arata for the sake of his safety. The other boy had made it more than clear what he thought of that. He could've said nothing more hurtful than that final declaration. He wasn't his captain anymore. He had truly been replaced. Perhaps, judging by Arata's rant… he had even driven him away. Sugimori hung his head in defeat. He'd done the exact opposite of what he intended to do: convince Arata to return to Mikage Sennou. But that chance was now nonexistent. Arata had found someone better than them. Someone better than him. And he couldn't blame him, apparently having neglected his feelings and forcing his own on him in the process – so much so that the usually quiet Arata actually exploded on him. Some captain he was. He fully deserved to be replaced.

Heart sinking in his chest, Sugimori slowly spun around and walked away from the field. He didn't have the courage to look back.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Many thanks to the people who took the time to give their thoughts on the first chapter. :) I appreciate it so much. Enjoy this one~**

* * *

Two hours later, Hitomiko blew a much anticipated whistle. It was lunchtime. Finally some rest and relaxation after that torturous trial. Since Neo Japan didn't have any managers to make them onigiri, they visited a nearby restaurant and ordered a bowl of ramen. Saginuma and Arata sat together behind the counter, more quiet than usual. Arata had carried an angry expression ever since he chewed out Sugimori, and his frustration clearly reflected on his plays. No one saw a reason to complain about it, seeing as his behavior strengthened the team's offense. But Saginuma wasn't happy with it. It was clear that the incident from before was still on Arata's mind. He'd seen the look on Sugimori's face: he was deeply hurt. But maybe, judging by the way Arata acted, so was he.

Arata eventually noticed a pair of eyes on him and glanced over at his new captain. "What?"

"Why didn't you tell him Neo Japan wasn't a permanent team?" Saginuma questioned, straightforward as always. "You know we'll disperse as soon as we have that title in our hands. Everyone will go back to their respective schools."

Arata's face soured and he refocused on his food. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I won't make you talk about something you don't want to," Saginuma assured him. "But you can't blame me for trying; I'm your captain, after all." He waited to see if Arata would respond, but since he didn't, he continued: "Then again… You don't see me as your captain, do you? It's him you consider your real captain."

Arata promptly dropped the noodles he'd pinched between his chopsticks and stared up at him. "Wh… what makes you say that…?"

Saginuma gave him a calm smile. "The fact that you addressed him as your captain five times before you dismissed him as one. You never once called me by that title: you always say 'Saginuma'."

Looking like he'd just been busted for stealing candy from the candy jar, Arata averted his gaze and stammered: "W-well… I…"

"I don't think you hate him as your captain quite as much as you claim you do," Saginuma said earnestly. "Mikage Sennou is your original team, after all. You and him share a much stronger bond than the two of us. Yet… something about him is bothering you, isn't there? Something you never told him until now."

Listening to those words, Arata nodded and his cold exterior completely faltered. He stared into his bowl of ramen as a frown crept onto his face. "We… Even when we were known as 'Soccer Cyborgs', Captain and I got along well. We were in perfect tune with each other. Actually… it was when we first played against Raimon that we started to show our differences. That was when we stopped relying on data and simulations and played our own game. When Raimon's striker fired at Captain, I—I jumped in the way. I blocked the ball at the cost of my own foot. I still don't know what came over me, I just—I just wanted to protect him." Arata put his chopsticks on the counter and started to fumble his hands on his lap. "He was the one who showed us what real soccer was… I was grateful to him. After that, we started to practice the way we wanted to, instead of listening to orders. It was fun, but… something was different about Captain. He became possessive of me ever since I got hurt for his sake. He constantly kept an eye on me and didn't let me do anything reckless. Even outside soccer, he wanted to make sure I was okay and didn't take part in anything dangerous. He was almost like a damn father. But…"

Saginuma gasped silently as tears began trailing down Arata's cheeks. His eyes were squeezed closed and his shoulders were quivering. "B-but… that's not who I want him to be. That's not what I protected him for. I wanted him to be my _friend_, not just my captain. But he—he just doesn't understand! All he does is suffocate me with his constant worrying. He won't let me have my own life as long as he's around. You saw it, didn't you? He thought you were a threat and refused to change his mind, even though we both tried to reason with him. He's just—he's just so selfish! I'm only a year younger than him; I can make my own decisions! But he refuses to see that. All he sees is helpless little Arata who got hurt during a match. Well, if he's going to be that stubborn, so am I. I won't do as he says any longer. I control my own life."

Finally relieved of everything he wanted to say, Arata brought up his hand and quickly rubbed the tears from his face. He expected Saginuma to answer, but looking up at him, he saw he was simply gazing down with a small, absentminded smile on his face.

Arata frowned in confusion. "W-what's so funny?"

"Nothing is funny," Saginuma answered, reinitiating eye contact. "I fully understand where you're coming from. After all… I heard those words a few times before."

Arata's eyebrows rose. "You did? Did your teammates tell you this too?"

"Well—yes and no. As you know, I was captain of a different team before Neo Japan. But I didn't just watch over them. Aliea Gakuen was in fact made up of the orphans from Sun Garden. We consider each other a family. And because I'm one of the oldest, I see it as it my duty to look out for all of my siblings." Saginuma grinned lightly. "And some of them have a similar opinion to yours about that."

Arata didn't know what to say. He was aware that Saginuma was an orphan and that about a third of the team consisted of him and his siblings, but he'd never stopped to think Saginuma might understand his position much better than he expected. As well as Sugimori's, seeing as they were on the same end of the issue.

"I… I'm sorry," he eventually said. "I didn't mean to offend you by saying all that."

"Don't worry, you didn't," Saginuma smiled. "As I said, I understand your point of view. But I think it's wise for you to understand your captain's too. You see, I think the duties of a coach and captain are extremely similar. They both give orders and support the team when necessary. However, it is also their task to take care of their players. We're supposed to prevent any harm from befalling them, and to be by their side in case we fail. To me, this team is just as important as Epsilon, because you are my irreplaceable teammates. You are important to me. Sugimori sees you the same way. He can't stand the thought of you getting hurt. As overbearing as he might be, he keeps an eye on you for the most unselfish reason possible: wanting nothing but to protect you. He cares for you. And from what I've seen, his level of interest surpasses that of a mere captain – perhaps because you protected him first, and that left an impact on him. I think he wants to be friends with you too. I think you two are still on the same wavelength. But you are separate individuals with your own way of doing things. You didn't discover this until you stopped being Cyborgs and played as real people. That's the reason why you clashed. You wanted to be together, but you had a different way of handling it. Am I right?"

… he was completely right. There was no denying that. Everything Saginuma said was spot-on. Arata hadn't considered how Sugimori might actually feel about him until now, but it had a perfect place in the story. He was his player, his ace striker, he cared for him as a person and a member of his team. Of course he was going to be upset if one of the pieces of the puzzle that completed the Mikage Sennou soccer team was missing all of a sudden. And here he was, thinking only of himself and how he wanted to do his own thing. He had never thought about how much Sugimori actually valued him. He even had the nerve to call him selfish… What an idiot he was.

Noting Arata was about to cry a second time, Saginuma put his hand on his back. "Your tears are nothing but proof how important to you he actually is. It's nothing to be ashamed about. I can only dream _my _ace striker would show that much interest in me." He nodded his head back to the table Segata sat at. The forward was busy snatching some of Demeter's ramen while the Zeus player was absorbed in a conversation with Hera. Quite a bold way of repaying him for teaching him Reflect Buster.

A grin made its way to Arata's face as he shook his head. Saginuma grinned himself, seeing he'd cheered up a little. Arata didn't protest once hearing Sugimori's side of the story, so there might be a possibility for the two to reconcile.

"Why don't you visit Mikage and talk it out with him?" Saginuma suggested. "I don't know much about your captain, but I think he's capable of forgiveness."

Arata's cheery expression fell for one of insecurity. "Are you really sure, Saginuma…? After I said such horrible things to him… He may not even want me back at this rate."

"Oh, I'm positive he'll want you back," Saginuma answered confidently. "After all, he wanted you back enough to fight you over it."

Arata summoned a weak smile. "Fair enough, but… school will be closed by the time we're done with practice. I'm not sure when I can go see him."

"Go see him now, then," Saginuma said. "I'll cover for you."

Arata widened his eyes in shock. Saginuma was prepared to take the wrath of the much feared Kira Hitomiko for the sake of a teammate…? Well, okay, he now understood how far he'd go for his players, but Hitomiko was still a force to be reckoned with, even for him.

Saginuma grinned at his expression, easily guessing what he was thinking. "Don't worry about Kantoku. I'll manage somehow. Besides, she's my caretaker in the first place," he winked.

"S-she is?" Arata stuttered, but Saginuma digressed by changing the subject. "Go to your captain. There are more important things than soccer right now. And trust me, I don't say that often."

Arata smiled, knowing that far too well, and jumped off his seat. "Thank you, Saginuma!" He lifted a hand in greeting before he hurried out of the restaurant.

Saginuma mimicked the gesture and was about to resume his lunch, but then got distracted by a ruckus behind him. Demeter had discovered his bowl was half-empty and Segata's mouth overly full and he looked just about ready to punch him in the face. Saginuma sighed, hanging his head for a moment, and he went to interfere before the idiots involved more idiots in their quarrel.

* * *

Sugimori wondered why he'd even bothered returning to school today. He knew how important it was and he wouldn't miss class for the world, but for the first time in his life, he couldn't concentrate in the slightest. The teacher's words went in through one ear and out through the other. Whenever he tried to write something down, the words became a blur before his eyes, and he actually needed a moment to answer the teacher's question, trying to grasp the solution to a problem he was supposed to be perfectly capable of solving. Not everybody noticed he was having trouble keeping up, but enough people did. It was embarrassing. And it definitely didn't make him feel any better.

After the students rose and thanked their teacher for the last class, Sugimori packed his bag and decided to go straight home. There was no soccer practice today, but even if there was, he probably would've cancelled it. He would've made an even bigger fool of himself by taking charge of that goal and letting through each and every shoot his teammates tried on him. Arata's outburst had definitely hit him harder than he thought: he was out of shape in every way possible. He couldn't concentrate in class, would shame his title as goalkeeper _and_ captain if he played today, and there wasn't a single thing he could think of that didn't have to do with his beloved forward. It was like he had not only lost him as a teammate, but as a friend as well. Although they weren't much of friends to begin with… Sugimori only now realized how close he actually wanted to be to the pink-haired boy. It would've been nice if he'd realized that before he ruined what little friendship they had.

Once again lost in his thoughts, Sugimori passed the school gate and bumped into the person he'd failed to see coming right for him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you—" he started, only to lose his voice when he saw it was none other than the one who consistently kept him from amounting to anything today. "A… Arata…?"

Arata rubbed his forehead, having run it straight into Sugimori's steel shoulder. That was going to leave a bruise. "It's alright, Captain, I didn't see you coming either. You appeared from behind the wall all of a sudden."

Sugimori stared at him in shock. Had he just called him _'Captain'_? At this point, he wouldn't be surprised if he'd actually imagined it. But even then, why was Arata here? He'd been skipping school for days; he couldn't see what could possibly be important enough to come here and miss practice with his new, precious team.

"Arata… What are you doing here…?" he stammered, and he saw how that question made Arata a little timid. His eyes flicked sideways and his fingers curled together, which they usually did when he was nervous.

"Well… I came for you, Captain," he admitted quietly. "I… It was wrong of me to say all those things to you, before. You were just looking out for me, and I didn't realize. I'm sorry."

Sugimori was completely convinced he was hallucinating the whole thing when Arata actually bowed to him. He had never done that before. Nor did he expect him to do it. He didn't think he'd see him anytime soon after he banished him from, well, his life. Hearing him apologize and acknowledge how harsh he'd been… Sugimori had trouble believing it. He'd never seen Arata so upset at him, or that upset in the first place. He'd completely assumed he regarded him as little more than useless trash.

"P-please raise your head," he urged, and luckily, Arata obeyed. He let out a small sigh as he tried to piece together his answer, eyes lowered to his feet. "L-look… I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't understand how much I was bothering you until you told me this afternoon. I wasn't aware I was going too far, checking up on you, and… 'controlling' you. Even though that was never my intention. Regardless, you're right about what you said: you get to make your own choices. I failed as your captain—"

"No, no, you didn't!" Arata suddenly interrupted. Sugimori looked at him in shock, and he quickly continued: "I'm the one who didn't realize how much you cared for me. I thought you were controlling me, but all you did was try to protect me. And that's what a captain does, isn't it? Protect his players. You may have taken it a step too far, but that didn't give me the right to shout at you. I was ungrateful and self-centered." Much too Sugimori's embarrassment, Arata bent forward a second time. "Please forgive me, Captain."

"W-what… I…" Sugimori thought he had trouble formulating his previous answer, but this one didn't come to him at all. He had no idea what to say, how to express how much it meant to him that Arata had not only approached him, but apologized and asked for forgiveness as well.

Since he was left completely speechless, Sugimori decided not to use words to convey the impact the other male had on him. Instead, he stepped closer and laid his arms around him in a hug. Arata twitched at the motion, and with good reason. Sugimori had never been interested in physical contact before, at least not beyond a simple handshake. But his arms were… warm, and soft. Arata felt safe, almost homey, in his embrace. If he'd ever bothered to imagine what it would be like to hug Sugimori, he couldn't have guessed he'd enjoy it to this degree.

Fully leaning into him with his cheek resting on Sugimori's chest, Arata put his arms around his waist and returned the hug. He was still a bit shy and didn't put much force into it, but he hoped it was enough to make Sugimori aware of his gratitude. Gratitude for being forgiven and accepted, just like Saginuma said he'd be.

The two of them quickly parted before they started catching attention and beheld each other with a small blush on their cheeks. Sharing a hug was definitely something neither of them expected to do today.

"Oh, by the way…" Arata started, as Sugimori remained silent. "There's one thing I didn't tell you… I never left Mikage Sennou. Saginuma's team is only temporary. It's made up of several schools in Tokyo. We're aiming to become the strongest team of Asia and grab a seat in FFI."

Sugimori didn't know what shocked him more: the fact that Arata never actually left the team, or the fact that he was trying to accomplish such an enormous feat. He would've never imagined Saginuma's team had a goal like that. So Arata wanted to become one of the best of the best…

"Y-you…" he stumbled, disbelief apparent in both his face and voice. "You're actually aiming for something so great…?"

Arata grinned proudly and put his hands on his hips. "You didn't think I'd go as far as that, did you? Well, it's true. I want Neo Japan to have a player from Mikage Sennou, to represent our team to the world."

"B-but… Why didn't you just tell me from the start?" Sugimori questioned. "Did you really think I'd try to stop you?"

"Well…" Arata lost part of his confidence. "I did consider that possibility, yes. But it was also to show you I can do what I want. I didn't want you to think I'm helpless forever… I wanted to prove I'm anything but."

"I've always known you weren't helpless," Sugimori stated matter-of-factly. "You showed me that the moment you stopped playing according to simulations. If you were helpless, you wouldn't have caught that ball for me. That was part of your own personal play. I already know that you're a strong player. But you're also an_** important**_ player, and…" He awkwardly glanced off to the side. "… I didn't want to see you hurt like that again. That's why I took things overboard…"

"Yes, I know," Arata nodded, flashing him a smile. "I know that now. And you're important to me too, Captain. I guess… we only really had the chance to connect when we stopped playing like robots. And then it felt like I was supposed to get used to a person I already knew, so I wasn't sure how to approach it."

Sugimori nodded in agreement. Back when Mikage Sennou relied solely on data and computers, the players weren't able to form a bond based on emotion. They didn't really know each other. They were more like soldiers, each fulfilling their separate role and aiming for victory for someone else's sake. The moment they finally started playing for themselves still felt like it only happened yesterday. As did the moment Sugimori acknowledged Arata as his own person – a very, very valuable one. He'd make sure not to lose him a second time.

"I consider everything water under the bridge… on one condition." Sugimori grinned when Arata looked at him with confused eyes. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

At the sound of those words, Arata returned the grin and nodded obediently. "I promise." He paused briefly as an idea came to mind. "Captain, while we're here, how do you feel about kicking the ball a little? I can show you the shoot Saginuma taught me."

"Are you sure?" Sugimori asked hesitantly. "Don't you have to go back to your other team?"

Arata shook his head. "If I go back now, there'll be hell to pay." He quickly added: "We have a very strict coach," when Sugimori widened his eyes in shock. "Besides, I prefer spending time with my Captain right now. I missed out on a lot, after all."

Sugimori couldn't argue with that. Arata stopped coming to practice only a couple of weeks ago, but his overblown concern had made it seem like a couple of months.

Once they reached the soccer building and Sugimori obtained a ball, he tossed it over to Arata and said: "Tell me when Neo Japan has their first real match. I'll make sure to come and cheer you on."

Arata grinned cheekily, once again blushing a little. He was already excited about showing Sugimori Saginuma's Gungnir, and he couldn't wait for Neo Japan to display their full strength. Having his captain's support from this point on definitely boosted his ambition: to not only win for his own sake, but for all of Mikage Sennou. To make Sugimori proud of him.

"I will."


End file.
